Safe haven | Rick Grimes

059. THIS IS THE TRADE

Chapter fifty nine

"This is the trade."

The man left the room. As soon as the door closed, Scarlett and Rick began scrambling to get dressed.

"I thought you said Daryl was watching him?" Scarlett asked, her voice laced with tension.

"He was," Rick insisted, hastily pulling on his pants.

Scarlett glanced down and spotted Rick's shirt lying on the floor. "So much for not talking about it," she muttered, crouching down to snatch it up.

Before she could even hand it over, Rick bolted out of the room. Scarlett quickly threw his shirt over her own shoulders, buttoning it up on the move as she raced after him.

They reached the top of the stairs just in time to see Carl. The boy stood frozen, his gun aimed directly at the intruder, who was calmly looking back at him.

"Carl, hey, um..." Rick started, trying to diffuse the situation.

Suddenly, a door slammed downstairs. Heavy footsteps echoed through the house. Daryl, Glenn, Maggie, Michonne, and Abraham came charging up the steps, weapons raised. Guns and a katana were instantly trained on the stranger.

"Everything's okay. We're all fine," Scarlett announced, raising her hands slightly to ease the tension.

Rick stepped forward, keeping his eyes on the man. "You said we should talk. So let's talk."

Scarlett glanced at Rick's bare torso and sighed. "I need to get you a shirt," she said, turning on her heel to walk away.

"You stole mine," Rick called after her, watching her retreat down the hall.

After Scarlett returned with a fresh shirt for Rick, the group headed downstairs. They gathered around the dining table, surrounding the stranger.

"So, how'd you get out?" Rick asked, leaning forward.

"One guard can't cover two exits or third-floor windows," Jesus replied smoothly. "Knots untie and locks get picked. Entropy comes from order, right?"

"Right," Daryl grunted, completely unimpressed.

"I checked out your arsenal," Jesus continued, looking around the room. "I haven't seen anything like that in a long time. You're well-equipped. But your provisions are low. Very low for the amount of people you have. Fifty-five?"

"More than that," Maggie corrected coldly.

Jesus smiled faintly, leaning back. "Well, I appreciate the cookie. My compliments to the chef."

Daryl glared at him. "Yeah, she ain't here."

"Look, we got off to a bad start," Jesus said, looking around the table. "But we're on the same side—the living side. You and Rick had every reason to leave me out there, but you didn't. I'm from a place that's a lot like this one. Part of my job is searching out other settlements to trade with. I took your truck because my community needs things, and honestly, both of you looked like trouble. I was wrong. You're good people, and this is a good place. I think our communities might be in a position to help each other."

"Do you have food?" Glenn cut straight to the point.

"We've started raising livestock," Jesus replied. "We scavenge, we grow. Everything from tomatoes to sorghum."

Scarlett crossed her arms, her eyes narrowing. "And why should we believe you?"

"I'll show you," Jesus offered, looking around at the guarded faces. "If we take a car, I can get you back to my home in a day. You can all see for yourselves who we are and what we have to offer."